


Give 'im an Inch

by SweetPages



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel
Genre: Implied Relationship, Steve loves to tease Bucky, and Bucky is tired of it, based on the heights of Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan, because I think in the movies they're a little more than an inch apart, because he's a punk, in fact this could be read either way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 12:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4919332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetPages/pseuds/SweetPages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is one inch taller than Bucky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Give 'im an Inch

Steve is one inch taller than Bucky.

Really, it isn’t something that should be of any consequence at all. No, one measly inch shouldn’t infuriate Bucky as much as it does. He, after all, hadn’t rubbed the fact that he’d been five inches taller than Steve in his face before the Steve had gotten the serum. In fact, he never brought up Steve’s height at all, and he defended him against any dames who would pull Bucky aside after a double date and complain about Steve being shorter than them.

He knows that Steve felt he had something to make up for, something to prove, so Bucky never mentioned his height.

Then Steve had gone and gotten all big and one day when it was just them, sitting around in their tent after a mission with the Howling Commandos, Steve had given him this little grin, and said _“Hey, you know I’m taller than you now, right?”_

And then it had never stopped.

Even when they discovered that there was just an inch between them (courtesy of Dugan having them stand back to back and taking a ruler between the two of them while the rest of the Howlies gathered around to watch), Steve didn’t relent. He took that inch and ran a mile with it.

He’d throw out an off-handed comment during an argument ( _“Yeah, you're older than me, I got it. You gonna keep using that now even though I'm bigger than you?”_ ), or tease him while they were on missions ( _“Maybe you should let me go first, since I’m taller. That way you can hide behind me.”_ ). Even now, when they’re with a whole new team in a whole new _century_ , Steve doesn’t miss an opportunity.

* * *

 

“Hey, can you grab me that jar of peanut butter?”

Bucky glances behind him to where Clint sits at the table in the next room, the rest of the Avengers sitting around it with him. They don’t always get together for meals, but Tony had stated that they all should have brunch this morning, since they’re all actually around at the same time (even Thor, who’d come in from Asgard last night). He'd also offered to cater the meal and make mimosas, and no one was about to turn down free food and expensive champagne. In all his life, Bucky had never imagined he’d get to see a team of superheroes assembled for brunch, but here he is.

“Sure.” He turns back to the cabinet he’d been digging around in as he’d tried to find some Tabasco sauce, and reaches for the peanut butter on the top shelf.

“Sure you don’t want me to get it for you?”

Bucky stops, fingers barely brushing the jar. A frown now on his lips, he turns back around and sends a glare in Steve’s direction. He tries not to notice the amused way Tony’s looking at him as he sips his drink, or the little smile on Natasha’s lips.

“I can get it just fine," he snaps.

“I know, Buck. Just thought I'd offer to help. Because if you're an inch short, I can get it for you."

Bucky's expression doesn't change even as Tony laughs and Sam turns away to hide his smile.

"Shut up and eat your goddamn pancakes," he replies, turning back around and retrieving the jar easily. He hears Steve laugh behind him.

"Aw, you know I was just teasin’.”

He doesn’t reply, instead continuing to sift through the contents of the cabinet until he finally finds the hot sauce.

* * *

 

“Does it really bug you that much?” Sam asks him as they stand in line at Starbucks. They don’t usually go running without Steve, but today he’s off doing some kind of reconnaissance mission in Beirut with Natasha. They _do_ usually grab coffee after they run, and Bucky always finds himself looking forward to what he pretty much considers to be a treat. After all, with choices like _'vanilla chai'_ and  _'white chocolate mocha'_ , it's hard not to.

He gives a little sigh, still looking over the menu board thoughtfully.

“Y’know, at first I got it. He was always smaller than me, and I guess he was a little insecure about it,” he says, looking over at Sam. “But it’s been more than _seventy_ years, and he _won’t_ shut up about it.” He can tell Sam wants to laugh at him, because he’s sure his expression reflects how truly annoyed he is, but the other man manages to stop at a little smile.

“Well...have you thought about getting him back?” Sam suggests, and Bucky looks over at him in confusion.

“Huh?”

“I mean, you guys go back and forth all the time. Why stop at height?”

Bucky thinks about this for a moment. He ends up having to give his order before he can reply to Sam, so he waits until they’ve paid and they’re waiting for their coffees to speak again.

“I guess it’s just because I know how much it used to bug him. It was all part of how he was before, y’know? He was always the little guy, and even though he didn’t let it slow him down, there were times I knew he wished he could be as big as the other guys he was always fighting.”

“So you’re being sensitive because of that?” Sam asks as their coffees are called and they grab them off the little stand at the end of the counter.

Bucky shrugs. “Guess so.”

Sam smiles and claps him on the back. “Well man, like you said, it’s been more than seventy years. Maybe it’s time for a little payback.”

He returns the smile as he sips at his coffee. “Maybe.”

“You guys have known each other since the 20’s, I know you have dirt on him you can tease him about.” Sam leads them over to a table in the corner and they both take a seat.

“Yeah, I do.” Bucky has plenty of material he could use to make a comeback with, so the only real decision now is what he should choose. What will make a big impact? What will get to Steve enough to make him _finally_ drop teasing Bucky about his height?

“Then next time Captain Smartass makes a comment, you just throw it right back at him.” Sam grins at him and quirks a brow as he takes a sip of his latte. Bucky gives a little laugh.

“Guess I could…”

“You should.” He nods, setting his drink on the table before leaning back and crossing his arms. “So, what kind of dirt do you have on Cap anyway? Anything you were planning on using?”

Bucky brings his mocha to his lips, touching the cup to the little smirk resting there.

“Oh I got somethin’, don’t you worry.”

* * *

 

He waits until everyone is together again to make his move. He ends up not having to wait that long, considering Steve and Natasha make it back from Lebanon the next day, and then they all decide that they should have a game night while everyone's still in town.

Sam helped him work out the set-up too, so Bucky is prepared for it when Sam asks how much Steve had grown since the serum. They’d planned things this way, so he’s ready when Steve casually replies that he’d grown six inches, and then predictably turns the conversation to Bucky.

“You know, I don’t think Bucky’s grown at all since before the war,” he muses, and Bucky can tell that although he _sounds_ innocent enough, he’s only trying to get on Bucky’s nerves.

“Maybe I have, how would you know?” he quips, raising a brow in Steve’s direction. Steve looks back at him with a playful smile.

“’Cause I still have an inch on you, Buck,” he replies, and then looks back down at the game board as he takes his turn and rolls the die. “And I haven’t grown since the serum.”

Normally Bucky might just let things go there. Wouldn’t even bother furthering the conversation.

But now he’s ready for revenge.

Bucky leans back in his chair a little, trying not to grin. He does make eye contact with Sam, who is now watching him closely as he waits for Bucky to speak.

“Yeah, I guess you are taller than me, even if it’s by an inch,” he states casually, causing Steve to look up at him with confusion. The other avengers look over at him too, not expecting this sudden change from the typical irritated expression he gets or the annoyed mumbling he usually does when Steve teases him like this. All eyes are on him now, as his own meet Steve’s.

“But I s’pose that’s only fair, since I’m an inch longer.”

Sam laughs loudly at the same time some of the soda Tony had been drinking spurts out of the billionaire's nose. Natasha's shoulders shake with barely repressed laughter as she watches Steve, and Bruce stares at Bucky with wide, shocked eyes. Thor looks at them all in confusion while Clint leans back in his seat and covers his mouth as he laughs. But Bucky could honestly care less about all of their reactions.

He watches as Steve’s mouth drops and his face turns a nice shade of pink. His eyes are wide as they stare at Bucky, as if he can’t even believe he actually went there in front of all their friends. Bucky just gives him a wink and a smile, and then snatches up the dice so he can take his turn.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this fic planned for months, but I saw a post going around on Tumblr about height differences and how frustrating it might for one half of the relationship to be one inch shorter than their partner, and then someone mentioned Stucky. So I figured I might as well actually write the fic I had planned since it's kind of a thing. XD  
> I hope it was at least a little funny, because I kept laughing out loud to myself when I thought up the fic, and when I plotted it out, and then when I wrote it, so if it isn't I'm going to feel like a huge effing dork.  
> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
